James O’Connor will clock up 34,000 kilometres of air travel this week to take part in the Bledisloe Cup opener after an 11th-hour selection shift from Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.

After flying to England on Monday to join his new club Leicester, O’Connor is set to make the journey back tomorrow to re-join the Wallabies squad for the Bledisloe Cup series, which begins next week at Eden Park in Auckland. Schmidt will name a squad on Thursday afternoon.

O’Connor will do approximately 51 hours of air travel this week after a bizarre sequence of events that saw him initially told by Schmidt he was not likely to be needed for the Eden Park clash, and was free to head to England.

The 35-year-old this year returned to the Wallabies squad after a three-year absence, and has impressed in starti

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